NUM is deeply concerned about some employers who are retrenching workers and focusing on profits
8 May 2020
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is deeply concerned and disappointed by some employers, especially in the mining industry, are just concerned about profits even during this dark period in the history of mankind.
Some companies have decided to issue Section 189 notices intention to retrench and had to be stopped by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) Minister Gwede Mantashe. To mention but a few of these companies are; Kangra and Zululand Anthracite Colliery in KwaZulu-Natal and Village Main Reef (VMR) in North West.
We managed to talk some sense to VMR for them to put this idea in abeyance until after lockdown. We condemned the fact that the company sent cellphone messages to their employees to remain home even after the lockdown. This, together with non-payment of salaries, led to workers staging a wildcat strike, thus pitting themselves against the police.
The other companies have not even shown interest in talking to us. These are the types of companies who do not deserve to have a license to mine in this country. Given the fact that they even defy our government, their license should be recalled. Their attitudes are unpatriotic and deserve to be condemned.